I Wish You Could Understand
by TracyLynn
Summary: IgnacioBettyHenry This is a oneshot discussion between Betty and Ignacio......SPOILERS for 02.07 if you are spoiler free you may want to read after this week's episode.


_**Author's Notes** : So, apparently, after conferring with my expert friends on all things UB, we have determined there are conflicting stories of how old Betty was when her mom died. For the purposes of this story, we are going to say she died when Betty was 9 and Hilda was 17. So Rosa never knew Justin and was gone before the girls finished high school._

_This is possibly spoilery for 02.07, so read no further if you have not heard any spoilers for 02.07 or if you have not seen the sneak peeks on abc dot com._

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"Sometimes I don't remember what her voice sounded like."

She didn't look up when she spoke.

Ignacio hadn't knocked on his youngest daughter's door; he had just quietly entered to see her sitting on her bed holding a picture of her mother in her hands. Her suitcase lay open at the end of the bed and he could see she was almost done with her packing.

"She had a thick accent but it was a light calm voice, caring."

He walked over and sat down on the chair in the corner of the room facing the bed where she sat and he continued.

"She had this way of talking to you in the most reassuring way no matter how dire the circumstance."

Betty looked up at him as he continued. He was looking past her as if remembering, picturing the scene in his mind's eye.

"I remember one time, she was particularly irritated with me and I was going on and on about Ramiro. He had an argument with her right outside the back door of the kitchen. She had planted some herbs in the garden and she of course had gotten dirty and he was all over her about doing menial labor that they had staff to do."

He shook his head and laughed at the memory.

"She told him she had wanted to do it herself because she thought the plants would grow better if they were planted by someone that really wanted them and would take care of them."

His look turned serious.

"He just lost it, telling her that she embarrassed him and that she didn't appreciate anything he offered her. He went on and on. And, she just stood there and listened to him rant until he drug her into the house and demanded she clean up and make herself presentable."

Betty looked down at the picture of her mother again as he continued.

"He had no sooner drug her into the house and barked his demands and then he was gone. She came into the kitchen to take off her garden apron and wash her hands and she was all smiles as if nothing had happened."

Betty looked up again.

"I went over to her to make sure she was all right. I started to rant and rave about Ramiro and how he treated her and she just looked at me. In fact, she raised her eyebrows at me."

Ignacio finally looked directly at Betty.

"Like you do. And she smiled. She told me the herbs were planted and that was all that mattered. And her voice was so calm, so convincing that it immediately calmed me. I couldn't help but smile back at her. She always made me feel that everything was going to be alright."

Betty took the picture and wrapped it in one of her sweaters and laid it in the suitcase. She looked over at her father.

"If that's true then I wish she was here to ease your mind now."

Ignacio frowned.

"Why don't you ease my mind and tell me why you feel you have to do this ?"

"I don't have to do it, dad, I want to."

"Aye, mi hija. Help me understand."

She sighed in frustration.

"Dad, you of all people, should understand. When you fell in love with mom, she was married to someone else."

"Betty……"

She walked over and stood in front of him and then kneeled down placing her hands on his legs and looked up at him.

"Dad, I love him and he loves me. I know it seems crazy. But, think about it. What has Henry really done wrong ? He was living with his girlfriend and something happened and they got pregnant. That isn't a crime. It happens, no matter how safe and careful you are. Once he found out, he moved to Tucson to support her and the baby. When he couldn't get a job that would provide immediate health care he moved back here with plans to move back to Tucson once the baby was born to support it and be part of it's life. Why isn't that admirable ?"

He wanted to have a good argument for that, but he didn't and she continued.

"And you know what ? He found out that Charlie had cheated on him, that the baby might not even be his. We waited, we waited to see if it was before we moved forward. And, it is his baby. Henry is going to be a father. And, while he will not share a life with Charlie, he still will move back to Tucson to be part of his child's life."

He nodded.

"Which is exactly why you should not be doing this Betty. It can't work out with Henry, you can't get your happily ever after."

Betty stood up from her kneeling position and walked over to her dresser. She picked up the rose she has saved from the Italian restaurant they had gone to briefly after the bowling fiasco.

"You know dad, when I found out the baby was his, I felt the same way. I couldn't tell him not to stay, he was at MODE for the baby, so we agreed to avoid each other at work. It worked for about a day. Then I went on that bowling date, you remember ?"

Ignacio smiled.

"Yes, you said it went well."

"It didn't. The guy ditched me at the bowling alley."

"What ?"

Betty smiled at the memory she was about to share.

"I turned around and there was Henry. He made up this story about being there with the accounting bowling league and he said he heard my date get a phone call and that he had to leave. He made the whole thing up just so I wouldn't feel bad. He even made up this crazy story about the guy's bird getting sick."

"Henry was at the bowling alley?"

Betty shrugged.

"I know. He came to make sure I was okay after he heard I had a date. He was jealous."

She walked to the closet and continued to pack clothes as she talked.

"He stayed with me to bowl and we agreed that avoiding each other wasn't working so we thought we could be friends. But, after couples bowling and a romantic restaurant, I just couldn't do it. I left to come home."

"And, let me guess, he followed you home ?"

"Of course he did, he didn't want me walking home alone at night. We talked. He said we had tried to avoid each other and we had tried to be friends and both had failed. He offered to leave MODE."

Ignacio was surprised.

"He did ?"

"Yes, and I didn't argue with him. He said he would give his notice the following Monday and I told him Daniel would help him find something else. We said goodbye."

Ignacio looked confused. Betty went on with her packing and continued.

"I couldn't let him leave. I went in the house and the door closed. And I realized that there really was only one option that would work. We couldn't avoid each other and we couldn't be friends because it wasn't really want either of us wanted."

"So you went back out ?"

"I did. And, I told him what I am telling you. I know he is leaving in less than five months now, and I know that everyone is going to think it is a mistake. Most importantly, I know I am going to get my heart broken. But, it's worth it, dad. It is."

"How do you know that ?"

"Because, dad, some people go their entire lives and never find that one person that makes them feel the way he makes me feel. I'd rather have five months of feeling that way than to take the chance that I will never feel this way again."

She put the last of her clothes in the suitcase and zipped it closed.

"You know sometimes, even I am overwhelmed by the reality of it. Last week when we snuck out to see Wicked, everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. Everyone that mattered called me stupid for even trying to fight for these five months. I almost gave up."

"But……"

"But, Hilda made me realize what I was giving up. She asked me if I thought that if someone gave her one more minute with Santos she would turn it down because it would hurt too much when it was over."

Ignacio smiled a knowing smile because he knew the answer to that. It would be his own answer if someone offered him one more minute with Rosa.

"She told me there was a man out there that loved me and that instead of being with him I was sitting there talking to her. And, she was right. I'd rather have five months of wonderful that a lifetime of nothing special. I just want to be with him as much as I can until he has to leave."

"It's going to kill you when he leaves."

"It's going to kill him too. Everyone, including me at one point, forgets how much this is hurting him too. He loves me as much as I love him. His heart is going to break too. We're both putting our hearts on the line here."

She walked over and stood in front of him after moving her suitcase to the doorway of her room.

"I don't know, dad, maybe you can't understand. Maybe this is something we agree to disagree on. I love you and I hope at some point you can at least accept our decision and be a part of a time in my life that is going to make me happier than you have ever seen me."

Ignacio wished he could grant his daughter this wish but no matter how she explained it he still was against this move.

"I wish I could, mi hija, but I can't approve of this. I can't be supportive of you moving in with Henry when I know it's going to break your heart."

Betty frowned. She hung her head and walked to the door yelling down to Henry to come up. When he appeared at the doorway, she motioned him in to her room. Henry looked over and saw Betty's father sitting in the corner of the room and by the looks on their faces it didn't seem much had been resolved. He looked at Betty and she smiled at him. It was the smile that he lived for and he smiled back.

Ignacio was not blind to the exchange and it was clear that Henry loved his daughter; he just wished it were enough to ease his mind.

"I just have this one bag. I'll stop by later this week and get more of my things."

"Okay, I'll take this downstairs."

Betty took his hand in hers and told him to wait with her eyes.

"Dad, I'm glad you fought for her. She was a wonderful mother and I miss her every day. If I could give you five months with her I would, and I know you would take it no matter how much it hurt in the end because you loved her so much."

She looked at Henry and then back at her father.

"We'll see you at the citizenship ceremony."

She turned to Henry and they started to leave until Ignacio spoke.

"Henry."

Henry took a deep breath and he and Betty turned back around to face her father who had stood from the chair he was sitting in.

"Yes, sir."

"You take care of her."

Henry smiled, looking at Betty and she smiled back. He looked back at Ignacio with a serious face.

"I will, sir. I will."

Ignacio nodded and Betty and Henry left the room. He wandered around the room looking at all of her childhood memories. She was his little girl, his baby. He didn't understand why she felt this need to put her heart through this pain, but he did understand the kind of love she described.

He sat on the bed and looked up with his eyes closed.

"Oh, Rosa. Tell me what to do, tell me how to feel and how to live with this decision she has made."

When he opened his eyes and looked across the room he saw a picture from Betty's bulletin board drift to the floor.

He got up from the bed and bent down to pick it up. Rosa had taken it. Betty was about five in the picture. He remembered the day, she was learning to ride her bike and she had fallen. In the picture, tears stained her face and he was kneeling in front of her bandaging her knee.

He smiled and looked up.

"Okay, Rosa, I will be here to make it all better when she comes home."

…**the end…**


End file.
